To detect the anticandidal activity of nine toothpastes containing sodium fluoride, sodium monofluorophosphate and herbal extracts as an active ingredients against 45 oral and non oral Candida albicans (C. albicans) isolates. The antifungal activity of these toothpaste formulations was determined using a standard agar well diffusion method. Statistical analysis was performed using a statistical package, SPSS windows version 15, by applying mean values using one-way ANOVA with post-hoc least square differences (LSD) method. A P value of less than 0.05 was considered significant. All toothpastes studied in our experiments were effective in inhibiting the growth of all C. albicans isolates. The highest anticandidal activity was obtained from toothpaste that containing both herbal extracts and sodium fluoride as active ingredients, while the lowest activity was obtained from toothpaste containing sodium monofluorophosphate as an active ingredient. Antifungal activity of Parodontax toothpaste showed a significant difference (P< 0.001) against C. albicans isolates compared to toothpastes containing sodium fluoride or herbal products. In the present study, it has been demonstrated that toothpaste containing both herbal extracts and sodium fluoride as active ingredients are more effective in control of C. albicans, while toothpaste that containing monofluorophosphate as an active ingredient is less effective against C. albicans. Some herbal toothpaste formulations studied in our experiments, appear to be equally effective as the fluoride dental formulations and it can be used as an alternative to conventional formulations for individuals who have an interest in naturally-based products. Our results may provide invaluable information for dental professionals.

To evaluate the antimicrobial activity of ethanolic extract of Ecballium elaterium (E. elaterium) fruits alone against Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) strains and Candida albicans (C. albicans) strains, or in combination with penicillin against Staphylococcus areus strains. Evaluation of the antimicrobial activity or synergy interaction was carried out using microdilution method. The results showed that ethanolic extract of E. elaterium fruits has antimicrobial activity against methicillin resistant S. aureus (MRSA), methicillin sensitive S. aureus (MSSA) and C. albicans. This extract showed a significant decrease in minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) of penicillin against both MRSA and MSSA strains. Fractional inhibitory concentration index (FIC) between penicillin and ethanolic extract of E. elaterium fruits against these test strains was less than 0.5. This study suggests that ethanolic extract of E. elaterium fruits has antimicrobial activity against S. aureus and C. albicans and there is a possibility of concurrent use of penicillin and E. elaterium extract in combination in the treatment of infections caused by MRSA and MSSA strains. A wider study is needed to identify the effective components, the mode of action and the possible toxic effect in vivo of these ingredients.

The present study assessed the metabolites and bioactivities of Micromeria fruticosa plant parts extracted with various solvents (ethanol, n-hexane, and water) through the steeping extraction method. Thereafter, the extracts were analyzed using GC-MS. Moreover, the extracts were tested for their antioxidant, antimicrobial, and antitumor activities. The quali-quantitative analysis of Micromeria fruticosa crude extracts revealed the occurrence of 27 secondary metabolites. Some major bioactives identified were menthone, oleamide, pulegone, and menthol. Numerous antioxidant minerals, viz., Fe, Zn, and Mn, were present. The water extract of leaves exhibited the highest DPPH scavenging activity (89.73%), followed by the water extract of flowers (80.07%) at 100 μg/mL. The stems’ water extract demonstrated greater antimicrobial activity against all the bacteria species tested. The ethanolic leaf and aqueous stem extracts exhibited strong activity against C. albicans and E. coli. Flowers’ aqueous extract demonstrated the highest cytostatic effect on the colon cell line by reducing viability, followed by the leaves’ ethanol extract. The extraction solvents influenced the recovery of phytocompounds, and the highest pharmacological activities of the different extracts could be correlated to the presence of additional bioactives. Our results suggest that the Micromeria fruticosa plant is a favorable source of natural products with promising properties for potential nutraceutical and functional food applications.

Objective: The aims of this study were to evaluate the antimicrobial activity and the genotoxic effect of both ethanolic and aqueous extracts of stem and leaf of Capparis spinosa (C. spinosa) plant on Escherichia coli (E. coli) ATCC 25922, Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) ATCC 6538P, clinical isolate of Methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) and Klebsiella pneumoniae (K. pneumoniae) and Candida albicans (C. albicans) ATCC 90028. Materials and Methods: The antimicrobial activity was determined using microbroth dilution method, while the genotoxic effect was investigated using randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD)-PCR and enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus (ERIC)-PCR. Results: The MIC values of both ethanolic and aqueous leaf and stem extracts of C. spinosa plant had a range 6.25 mg/ml to 100 mg/ml. In addition, it was found that ethanolic extract more effective than aqueous extract. The genotoxic activity of aqueous leaf extract, showed changes in both Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD)-PCR and Enterobacterial Repetitive Intergenic Consensus (ERIC)-PCR profiles of E. coli strain treated with extract compared to untreated (negative) control. These changes included an alteration in the intensity, absence or appearance of new amplified fragments. Conclusions: Results of this study strongly show the genotoxic effect of aqueous leaf extract from C. spinosa plant on E. coli. The findings draw awareness to the possible toxic effect use of C. spinosa plant in traditional medicine and point out the capability of using C. spinosa to treat bacterial or fungal infections. More studies are needed to detect the exact ingredients of this plant as well as the mechanisms responsible for genotoxicity. Further in vivo genotoxicity studies are recommended to ensure and to evaluate the safety of using plants for therapeutic purposes. In addition, results of this study showed that molecular fingerprinting based on ERIC-PCR can be used to evaluate the genotoxic effect in the model bacterial species E. coli.